Climate: Improving the availability of hydro-climatic data to support robust climate policies in West Africa

Use of hydro-climatic data: challenges to be met

In the ECOWAS-CILSS region, the improvement of hydro-climatic information systems is vital for the development and implementation of effective climate policies. However, in the region, hydro-meteorological stations are either not available or are outdated. A lack of data over several years is observed in several countries, limiting the projection of climate trends. In this context, the Agrhymet Regional Center (CRA) is assisting West African countries in updating their hydro-climatic databases.

The availability of these data allows States and regional institutions to have better visibility regarding the real vulnerability of populations and to ensure better coordination in the implementation and monitoring of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This information also strengthens the relevance of adaptation and disaster reduction measures at the local and national levels through the forecasting of hydrological and climatic risks via warnings, the integration of adaptation strategies into risk management, etc.

Building capacity to analyze climate change in West Africa

The CRA, with the support of the GCCA+ West Africa project, is also updating the regional hydro-climatic database in order to facilitate the analysis and development of information on climate and water resources in the West African region. Thus, the regional database is regularly fed with annual data from the countries of the region, but also with daily satellite data that allow to update the data of the countries.

This update is done through the annual feedback of climatic and hydrological data from the countries, thanks to the establishment within each country of thematic groups serving as relays. The availability of this information allows for a more detailed analysis of climate change in the West African region and is an asset for supporting measures to adapt to climate change. Similarly, this information is very useful for decision makers and authorities in the region, who can make informed decisions and act on the basis of quality evidence and data.

Furthermore, with information on weather and climate events, crop forecasts, and recommendations on what to do during bad weather, farmers can protect their assets and make long-term plans based on the forecasts.

Renforcer les capacités d’analyse de l’évolution du climat en Afrique de l’Ouest

Improving the capacity to analyze climate and water resource changes and their impacts in West Africa is also essential to make use of the available hydro-climatic data. To this end, the CRA is developing activities to support the updating of country databases. Thus, assistance and training missions on the use of the hydrological data management system "HYDROMET" and climatological "CLIDATA" have been organized to promote harmonized data management in 7 West African countries in 2019 (Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Ghana, Chad and Cape Verde). Similar missions are planned in 2021 in other West African countries with the support of the GCCA+ West Africa project.
 

Find out more about GCCA+ West Africa